Mercedes W115 220d A0019874257 Rear Window Seal Gasket- on 2040-parts.com

MSN Cars' Ian Dickson and Steve Walker to leave

Microsoft MSN Cars' journalists Ian Dickson (above left) and Steve Walker (right) are to leave the team at the end of 2013. The pair, who produce much of the content you read here day-to-day, have notched up an impressive 10 and a half years' combined service between them. Senior editor Ian Dickson joined MSN Cars in September 2006, while content editor Steve Walker arrived in September 2010.

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” . “We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said.

VW developing 10-speed transmission to save fuel

Volkswagen is developing a 10-speed dual-clutch transmission to help reduce fuel consumption in its vehicles, CEO Martin Winterkorn said. The transmission is one of a number of drivetrain technologies that the automaker is focusing on for the mid- and long term, he said. Others include plug-in hybrids and a high performance diesel engine.